Play the Believing Game

Writing, thinking, creating — these acts are bounded by two contrary processes: believing and doubting. For many student writers — for many people, in fact — being critical and judgmental can come easily. Hence, the truism “it’s easier to critique them to create” (Alcott). Yet it is especially important, especially in the early stages of a writing project, for writers to put doubt and criticism aside.

Learn how to play the believing game. Rather than being hypercritical of your work. Energize your work by focusing on more positive messages. Manage your writing process with the awareness that an early first draft provides insufficient information to assess what the final draft will look like and develop effective writing habits! If you are required to complete a collaborative project in the class, don’t automatically assume it will be a disaster, that one or two people end up doing the work of the group.

Right now, what are you saying to yourself? If negativity is bringing you down, write down some consistent positive messages, such as “I’m going to learn a lot by completing this essay!”

Develop Effective Writing Habits

This section identifies and explains some of the most notable patterns of successful compositionists. Successful compositionists practice some of the following strategies: Return, Revise, Risk, Reject

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